India's edible oil imports are expected to increase 5.4 percent to 11.7 million tonnes in 2014/15, an industry expert said on Thursday.
"Rise in demand due to population increase and an expected lower oilseeds production due to this year's weak monsoon are likely to push cooking oil imports next year," Govindbhai Patel, a trade expert from India's western city of Rajkot, said at a palm oil conference in Mumbai.
He also said India, the world's leading importer of vegetable oil, would import on an average 1.05 million tonnes of edible oil each month until October.
Patel forecast the monthly imports of palm oils at 700,000 tonnes until October.
India's edible oil marketing year runs from November to October.
Sources: Reuters (Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Anand Basu)